Although it is not the most popular word among students "homework" is extremely important to education and the sustainment of knowledge. Homework is that crosswalk between home and school, it enables the child to continue his/her education in a different setting: their own home. Homework allows the child the opportunity to be successful in their area of study. Through repetition and practice a student can retain information for a much greater period of time. Let's explore 6 constructive purposes that are achieved through homework (Goldstein):
Homework is a very useful tool for the educators as well. Homework allows a teacher to assess each students individual progress in their certain area of study. Homework can also be an indicator to that child's particular learning strategy. Although it may seem like an internal part of the learning process there has been an ongoing debate over time concerning homework. According to Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering in their article "The Case for and Against Homework" this is the struggle of homework through the ages:
The Struggle of Homework:
- Early 20th century – It was believed that homework helped build disciplined minds;
- 1940s – There was growing concern that homework interfered with other activities;
- Late 1950s – Sputnik sparked a revival of rigorous homework to counter Soviet gains;
- 1980s – Some theorists said homework was detrimental to students’ mental health
- Current – There is a raging debate on the value of homework, including three recent anti-homework
books. (Marzano)
Marzano and Pickering initially agree that unproductive and wasteful homework can decrease a students achievement. They also state that in the early elementary grades it is not as crucial. However, as the child's age increases so does the importance of homework. Homework becomes a crucial part of any curriculum when it comes to secondary school and beyond. Marzano and Pickering offer some simple guidelines to help increase the chances that teachers don't assign wasteful homework... they stress the importance of assigning purposeful homework that is likely to be completed by the students, involving parents in the appropriate way, not over-doing it, and following up with the students (Marzano). Following these guidelines will increase student's achievement and allow them to extend their education outside of the classroom in a productive and positive way.
However studies have also postulated some potentially negative effects of homework as well such as:
Negative Effects of Homework:
- Student satiation, including loss of interest in academic material and physical and emotional fatigue;
- Denial of access to leisure time and community activities;
- Parental interference, including pressure to complete homework and perform well and
confusion of instructional techniques;
- Cheating, including copying from other students and help beyond tutoring;
- Increased differences between high and low achievers. (Cooper)
Although these are very real negative impacts if educators could follow the guidelines set by Marzano and Pickering they can be easily avoided. An issue that also seems to be prominent when it comes to homework is getting students to do the work at all. Some teachers fail their students when they don't do the homework to "teach them a lesson" but Linda Darling-Hammond and Olivia Ifill-Lynch state in their article "If They'd Only Do Their Work" this strategy rarely works and can even confirm students feelings that they can't be successful. “A more difficult but effective approach,” say Darling-Hammond and Ifill-Lynch, “is to create a strong academic culture that changes students’ beliefs and behaviors, convincing them to engage in their schoolwork.”
In her article "Five Steps to More Effective Homework" Cathy Vatterott also gives helpful hints and tips for making homework more of a success for students; “homework should not cause students to fail,” says Vatterott. “If homework carries too much weight in determining students’ grades, students may fail even though they have demonstrated mastery on tests and in-class assignments.” Holding students accountable for homework should mean insisting that they finish rather than giving them a zero.
Some Possible Policies:
- Have a Zeros Aren’t Possible policy – all work must be completed.
- Use homework to check for understanding and give feedback.
- Don’t kill motivation or course grades by being too punitive.
- If possible, don’t give grades at all; give credit for completion only, not correctness or
accuracy.
- Count homework 10 percent or less of final grades.
- Be somewhat lenient on lateness; allow re-dos or give “incomplete” grades. (Vatterott)
Conclusion: The above picture sums up the initial attitude students have towards homework. Homework can be a wonderful tool to bridge students and parents together, provide the continuing of education outside the classroom, and increase in student achievement and self esteem. It is our responsibility as educators to provide our students with clear, relevant, interesting, and fun assignments that pertain to our students area of study. If more teachers accomplished this goal the positive aspects of homework will be undeniable to students and teacher alike and homework will no longer be such a dreaded word.
Although it is not the most popular word among students "homework" is extremely important to education and the sustainment of knowledge. Homework is that crosswalk between home and school, it enables the child to continue his/her education in a different setting: their own home. Homework allows the child the opportunity to be successful in their area of study. Through repetition and practice a student can retain information for a much greater period of time. Let's explore 6 constructive purposes that are achieved through homework (Goldstein):
Credit to: Allie Sofos created using Prezi
Homework is a very useful tool for the educators as well. Homework allows a teacher to assess each students individual progress in their certain area of study. Homework can also be an indicator to that child's particular learning strategy. Although it may seem like an internal part of the learning process there has been an ongoing debate over time concerning homework. According to Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering in their article "The Case for and Against Homework" this is the struggle of homework through the ages:
The Struggle of Homework:
books. (Marzano)
Marzano and Pickering initially agree that unproductive and wasteful homework can decrease a students achievement. They also state that in the early elementary grades it is not as crucial. However, as the child's age increases so does the importance of homework. Homework becomes a crucial part of any curriculum when it comes to secondary school and beyond. Marzano and Pickering offer some simple guidelines to help increase the chances that teachers don't assign wasteful homework... they stress the importance of assigning purposeful homework that is likely to be completed by the students, involving parents in the appropriate way, not over-doing it, and following up with the students (Marzano). Following these guidelines will increase student's achievement and allow them to extend their education outside of the classroom in a productive and positive way.
However studies have also postulated some potentially negative effects of homework as well such as:
Negative Effects of Homework:
confusion of instructional techniques;
Although these are very real negative impacts if educators could follow the guidelines set by Marzano and Pickering they can be easily avoided. An issue that also seems to be prominent when it comes to homework is getting students to do the work at all. Some teachers fail their students when they don't do the homework to "teach them a lesson" but Linda Darling-Hammond and Olivia Ifill-Lynch state in their article "If They'd Only Do Their Work" this strategy rarely works and can even confirm students feelings that they can't be successful. “A more difficult but effective approach,” say Darling-Hammond and Ifill-Lynch, “is to create a strong academic culture that changes students’ beliefs and behaviors, convincing them to engage in their schoolwork.”
Credit to: Allie Sofos used making Piktochart
In her article "Five Steps to More Effective Homework" Cathy Vatterott also gives helpful hints and tips for making homework more of a success for students; “homework should not cause students to fail,” says Vatterott. “If homework carries too much weight in determining students’ grades, students may fail even though they have demonstrated mastery on tests and in-class assignments.” Holding students accountable for homework should mean insisting that they finish rather than giving them a zero.
Some Possible Policies:
Credit to: Cayusa using Flickr
Conclusion:
The above picture sums up the initial attitude students have towards homework. Homework can be a wonderful tool to bridge students and parents together, provide the continuing of education outside the classroom, and increase in student achievement and self esteem. It is our responsibility as educators to provide our students with clear, relevant, interesting, and fun assignments that pertain to our students area of study. If more teachers accomplished this goal the positive aspects of homework will be undeniable to students and teacher alike and homework will no longer be such a dreaded word.